Someone please explain this to me.

[QueenAdrock]

My insurance (Unicare PPO, not even gonna hide who it is) will pay 100% for abortions and also a good chunk of change for the morning-after pill. Yet, they won't cover my ortho tricyclen lo, that'll cost me $40 a month.

Why?

You'd think if they really cared about your health, they'd go with what was healthiest for the woman. I personally think that preventative birth control is the safest route, especially since it's extremely low hormone levels (something like .1% hormones).

That is just so skeezy to me. I need to find cheap BC, because the online pharmacy that got it for me for $8 a pack is being shut down in December and $40 a pack is ridiculous to me. More than a dollar a pill? Ugh.

[Echewta]

just any willie nillie abortion or emergency abortions?

[Loppfessor]

Just tell the guy to pull out...it works....of course the only 100% birth control is to give her a fake name and address

[The Notorious LOL]

because if the pill was covered they would have to pay for it for a LOT of females under their insurance whereas an abortion or emergency contraception pill is something thats fewer and further between. Its more cost effective for them not to cover it.

[ms.peachy]

Maybe it's just me, but $40 a month doesn't sound that outrageous to me.

Trust me, a kid will cost you more.

[cookiepuss]

assbackwards. I hate insurance companies. I'm still waiting to find out if they are going to cover my treatments for my eye condition. if they don't I'm gonna have to cough up over 2k in medical bills.:mad:

[The Notorious LOL]

no its not assbackwards at all, it makes perfect sense. However, you have to acknowledge it from a profiteering standpoint rather than a healthcare standpoint.

[cookiepuss]

yeah sorry, but I'd like my coverage to be calculated from a healthcare standpoint, not what's the cheepest or most profitable. If I had not received treatment I would have lost vision in my right eye, so when it comes to my sight i'd love it if they'd take a look at the medical implications of what needed to be done, not the cost.

[The Notorious LOL]

insurance (for some reason) isnt a social service, its a business and it exists to make profits...so until someone rethinks the whole system it'll either be declinations for a lot of shit or super high premium costs.



also I dont think BC should be covered under it. Its like covering Viagra. You dont NEED it.

[QueenAdrock]

You do need it if you have really fucked up periods. That's originally why I went on it, mine were super heavy and painful and it helped even me out and regulate my period.

But yeah, I see it from a profiteering standpoint but it still doesn't make sense. Because wouldn't they pay more in the long run if I got pregnant and was against abortions? Cuz I am pretty against abortions. I'm pro-birth control. If I can't afford said birth control and got pregnant, they'd have to pay for prenatal care, plus the baby would be added to my insurance and cost them more in the long run for that.

$40 isn't outrageous, but it is when you're on a tight budget and it used to cost $20 under your old plan. This is all kinds of suck.

[cookiepuss]

well I can agree that the system should be revamped, reworked, because I feel that it should be more of a social service. (or maybe I just need to become canadian)

errrr....can't agree with your thoughts on BC. I feel that's easy for you to say because you are male. On some level ok you can make a case that it is not needed the same way insulin is for diabetics, but some women do take it because it regulates thier cycle and if they are a person who has very painful periods it can help make it easier for them. So it's not just and issue of "oh well if you don't want to get pregnant don't have sex"

I guess abortions are fairly cheap, but pregnancy isn't so I would think that offering birth control coverage would end up being an advantage for the insurance companies, but maybe I'm unclear on the concept.

edit: ohhhhh good job QA you brought up the painful irregular period thing already. me no type fast enough.

[beastiegirrl101]

You do need it if you have really fucked up periods. That's originally why I went on it, mine were super heavy and painful and it helped even me out and regulate my period.

But yeah, I see it from a profiteering standpoint but it still doesn't make sense. Because wouldn't they pay more in the long run if I got pregnant and was against abortions? Cuz I am pretty against abortions. I'm pro-birth control. If I can't afford said birth control and got pregnant, they'd have to pay for prenatal care, plus the baby would be added to my insurance and cost them more in the long run for that.

$40 isn't outrageous, but it is when you're on a tight budget and it used to cost $20 under your old plan. This is all kinds of suck.

QA-same EXACT reasons I went on...and same brand. My insurance doenst cover it all and I pay about $30 a pack. AND...they wont let me get more than one pack at a time...which is crap. I feel your pain, but Mrs. Peachy is right...babies cost a lot more.

[SandyLove]

My post isn't so much about the assbackwords insurance coverage cuz unfortunately there is little you can do about that but perhaps seek an alternative. I'm familiar with experiencing excruciating painfull periods, and was on the pill when i was like in my late teens. It did wonders no more pain. But I gained weight and felt too ugly and miserable and stopped feeling sexy for sex. so i read up on alternate methods for cramp relief: drink lots of water, exercise during your period, eat healthy meals that have all the B vitamins, have sex, just take extra steps to be healthy also I learned that the BC pill is a hormone your putting into your body and hormones are never good for you no matter how low the "dose" is. its like steroids which is a hormone aswell and there are severe side effects i already know three people who have damaged their bodies taking hormones. One being permanent hair loss at age 24. Put it this way it takes discipline to always wear a condom. but Its not hard to put one on. it should always be in the guys best interest to put one on and never put his girl at high risk of pregnancy. I know typically women fuss about it more then men but really, I'd let up on that being a responsibility that soley falls your shoulders. Let him worry about the contraceptives. Phone him on his cell and tell him to pick up a pack after he gets off work. makes life so much easier and stress free.

[little j]

will they pay for generic? can you switch to a different pill?

[Kerrbear]

My insurance (Unicare PPO, not even gonna hide who it is) will pay 100% for abortions and also a good chunk of change for the morning-after pill. Yet, they won't cover my ortho tricyclen lo, that'll cost me $40 a month.


So wait, before conception= 0%
Immediately after conception= partial coverage
Well into pregnancy= 100% coverage
Do they cut you a fat check if you wait until after the baby is born and leave it in a dumpster?
Maybe someone on the board of directors of your insurance company is really into the pro-choice movement.

[cosmo105]

i had some crappy symptoms too with the pill. i didn't have as extreme reactions as some friends of mine did (though that was part of my decision to get off it), but when i finally went off it i realized just how big of an effect they had on me. i felt like a completely different person. here i went through this terrible depression through my teens that i thought was based solely on circumstance...it was like i always had this cloud over my head. it dawned on me one day within just a few months of being off it, that i was the bright and cheery person i had been as a child. i used to be very pessimistic and lacked any sort of self-confidence. i'm sure that growing up and being in a better situation in my life has contributed to that change, but i'm positive that the pill had a huge effect on that. add to the weight it kept on me and the other problems and imbalances it gave me...i'd take one day of pms (though i don't get it as bad as queenie) a month over that any day.

you might want to try an essential fatty acid supplement. i take an omega-3, -6, and -9 blend (because i'm vegan - you'd probably be fine with just omega-3) every day and it's made a huge difference in my pms. it really regulates hormones. i'm super regular now - exactly 28 days - and the cramps are never that bad. just mildly irritating. i use a tea to help with them and the bloating, and that helps a lot. my favorite is by a brand named Seelect, but all of the good ones out there have similar ingredients. you want one that's got diuretics like Uva Ursi and cornsilk. of course, keep drinking water and making sure you get b vitamins as sandylove mentioned.

as far as moodiness goes, though, my poor boyfriend's screwed.

[QueenAdrock]

will they pay for generic? can you switch to a different pill?

There is no generic for ortho-lo, and switching to a different pill IS a possibility, but the timing is off. I have a pack for November left, and if I switch in December I'd have to use condoms that entire month and uh, boy is coming to town then. Don't want to. So earliest would be like January or February.

And Sandy - another reason for my BC is because condoms gave me terrible UTI's. People said I had to pee after sex, but that didn't really help. After I stopped using them, my infections went away. Not a very big fan of them.

I'm not too worried about the side effects of the pill, since the Lo is the lowest dose you can get. I'm usually super-sensitive to side effects (migraines run in the family), but I've experienced no problems. I trust my doctor's opinion when she tells me it's safe to be on them (and it lowers my chances for cervical cancer, too). I'm not a doctor, so if she tells me that in her professional opinion that it's fine for me to be on it, then I trust that. People react differently to the pill and I think it's a case-by-case thing. If it's not right for you there's other alternatives, but if it's worked like a charm...no reason to switch.